For The Win had a chance to sit down with Nantz at a recent CBS/Turner event in midtown Manhattan, and here’s what we found out:

1. He gave away hundreds of ties before handing them out at the tournament

Nantz says he’d presented ties to fans who came up and asked for autographs, sometimes to those who had their own story of a family member who suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease — Nantz’s father died in 2008 after a battle with the horrifying disease, and the announcer made it his priority to do all he could to fight for a cure.

“My father got to see the first 10 years of my career,” Nantz told For The Win. “He implored me to always appreciate people who are not operating under any sort of false pretense or who weren’t caught up in their own success. He reminded me, ‘Jimmy don’t ever forget, kids come up to you … you were one of those kids one time.'”

2. He was inspired by the way some of his famous friends treated the people

“I’m not comparing myself in any fashion to these names, but these are all friends of mine who I’ve watched how they handle the public: President George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, [the late] Arnold Palmer. I watched the way they interacted with people and I’ve been downright touched by their generosity. Arnold would sign an autograph with more care and attention than anyone you saw. He would pull out an umbrella pin and sometimes put it on you. The presidents, I’ve seen them give away cuff links. I’ve just seen the best at being able to make people know they’re appreciated.”

3. The NCAA Tournament tradition began in 2006

Back then, Nantz was covering Florida during the first of the Gators’ back-to-back title runs. The team had a trio of players — Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Taurean Green — with famous fathers. Nantz decided to ask Corey Brewer about his dad and found out that the player’s father couldn’t be in attendance at the championship game for medical reasons, so the play-by-play man said he’d wish the forward’s dad well on the air.

Later, while Florida celebrated its championship, Nantz and Brewer found each other. Brewer asked Nantz if he’d mentioned his dad on the air, and the broadcaster confirmed he did. Then, he took off his tie and handed it to Brewer.

4. Some players love getting a tie

Nantz found out the next year Florida was in the finals that Brewer had hung the tie in his locker.

“I thought the whole thing was really cool,” he said over the phone earlier this month. “It’s Jim Nantz, he does all the big games, everyone knows who he is.” Brewer had trouble recalling all the details of his interactions with Nantz, but he did remember bringing it back to his parents’ Portland, Tennessee, home that summer. His mom stashed the pink tie in a trophy case in the house’s TV room, where it’s draped over the Gold Ball he received after Florida won the 2K Classic in 2005.

“I never wore it,” Brewer said. “It was like a trophy, like a keepsake.”

Ex-Duke guard Quinn Cook told the site he said to Nantz “how much that meant to me.”

Former Louisville guard Peyton Siva wore his after a title game victory in 2013.

6. The tie giveaway wasn’t supposed to be a public story …

“I never asked for any attention,” Nantz said, recalling the moment he gave his tie to Acidiacono in 2016. “I didn’t know there was a camera crew on me. It was from the station that hired me to be an anchor when I was a junior in college. They weren’t trying to make it into a snarky story, they wondered what it was about.”

7. … But it’s turned into something bigger

“I can’t get people to understand how important the Alzheimer’s fight is to me,” he said. “The most important thing is to be a member of the team, wherever that is in the world, that helps bring an end to this insidious disease.”

That, coupled with the explosion of the story surrounding his tie giveaway, has led to a partnership with Vineyard Vines, who will manufacture ties with “Nantz National Alzheimer’s Center” printed on the back. When the apparel company begins selling them, it will donate some of its proceeds to charity, and Nantz says he’ll give 100 percent away.

8. After all the response to the story blowing up, it’s turned out to be a positive

A look at the story behind the CBS broadcaster’s March Madness tradition.

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